


Sam Wilson's School Of Musical Education

by Brenda



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, M/M, Minor Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, POV Sam Wilson, Sam Has Excellent Taste In Music, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Sam Wilson is a Saint, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, Tony Not So Much, Tony Stark Is Not Helping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 18:51:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3499118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brenda/pseuds/Brenda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"I'm not seeing any heavy metal or hair bands on this list, Wilson.  How can you discuss rock musical history without talking about the best bands to ever strap on a guitar and jam your face off?"</i>
</p><p>  <i>"It's not that sort of music history –" Sam starts, only to have Tony wave him off.</i></p><p>Or: </p><p>Sam tries to teach Bucky the history of rock & roll.  Which, once Steve and Tony and Clint and Thor get involved, goes about as well as you'd expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sam Wilson's School Of Musical Education

**Author's Note:**

> About a billion years ago, I promised Melle that I'd write her Sam teaches Bucky about rock & roll. Eventually, I do keep my promises. :)
> 
> Written for the [Tower Party speed fic](http://towerparty.livejournal.com/) challenge & beta'd by G.

Sam's not entirely sure when exactly it was he was appointed to be the person to bring James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes up to speed on the 21st century and teach him all the shit he missed while under Hydra's control, but he knows for sure no one had consulted him on it. If anyone had, he would have been happy to tell them was a terrible idea it was. Not that he hates Barnes or anything – he's a pretty alright sort, now that Sam's used to the stoic, still demeanor – but there have to be more qualified people out there for the job. People with actual history or sociology degrees or maybe who've taught it or maybe even a student looking to gain practical knowledge outside of the classroom.

Still, Sam's a team player (unlike some people he could mention) and Steve trusts him to do a good job by his best bud, which is still an odd feeling. He has Captain America's trust. He hangs out with and sometimes fights alongside the Avengers. He can count an ancient alien being from another realm, and a brilliant scientist who turns big and green when he gets mad, not to mention the deadliest spy on the planet, as his personal friends. Ones he doesn't want to let down.

So, with that in mind, he takes it upon himself to try to figure out a way to make learning the last seventy or so years of history fun and interesting and maybe a little outside the box. Something that wouldn't involve memorizing a bunch of dates and names – which he'd hated back when he'd been in school. Something that could incorporate a few different ideas and themes and help Barnes rediscover himself just a little.

***

Sam's just putting the finishing touches to his Spotify and YouTube playlists when Barnes strolls into the main living room of Avengers Tower. Stark has taken it upon himself to personally oversee maintenance of Barnes' arm, and Sam had wanted to coincide this lesson with one of those visits, since he has access to a lot more in the way of research materials and such. (Not to mention, Jarvis is a font of knowledge.)

"What's all this?" Bucky asks, frowning slightly at the array of papers and the set of Bose wireless speakers on the dining room table. "I thought we were going over American history."

"We are," Sam says. "Pull up a seat."

Bucky sits next to him, still frowning. "I don't see any books. Or maps."

"We won't need 'em." Sam pulls up the first playlist on the laptop and hands Bucky a sheet of paper. "See, I got to thinking about how to do this, and I know it's important that we get you all caught up on what you missed while you were forced to do evil deeds as Hydra's Deadliest Assassin, but history is pretty damn dry without the proper context. So we're gonna spice it up."

Bucky doesn't look any less skeptical, but at least he's stopped frowning. "And how is it you're going to do that?"

"I'm glad you asked, see, because the _perfect_ way to do that is to discuss history as it relates to the musical trends of the time, especially through rock  & roll and related genres. You like music, right?"

"Sure, yeah. I...I remember Steve and I used to go dancing," Bucky says, drawing the words out like he's a little unsure of them.

"Alright, that's good," Sam says and smiles in encouragement. "That's a good start. And on the way we'll try to figure out your current musical tastes. Although, I'll warn you now if you don't like Smokey Robinson or Prince, we're gonna have a problem."

Bucky scratches at the side of his neck and manages to look both adorably confused (well, as adorable as a former assassin can look) and mildly terrifying at the same time. "Okay?"

"That was a joke, man. We gotta work on that, too."

"Steve seems to think my sense of humor is fine," Bucky says, and busies himself retying his hair back into a short ponytail.

"Steve's about as biased as a crooked politician, he doesn't count," Sam replies. "But, in all seriousness, music is personal. It's like sex. You, uh, you do remember sex, right?"

Bucky just gives him a _look_. One that Sam imagines not a lot of people have seen and lived to tell the tale.

He's suddenly well aware that Bucky could probably snap his neck right from where he's sitting without even breaking a sweat. "Sorry, yeah, um, anyway. The point is, sex is like music, it's all different and it's all personal. And means different things to different people."

"Makes sense," Bucky replies, and thankfully, the thunderous look leaves his eyes. 

"And there are a lot of different rock genres out there and sub-genres and it's all good, you like what you like, but not all of those genres or bands or songs are important or historical touchstones in the way that others are. And some of the songs we're gonna study aren't necessarily my personal favorites or are even in genres I like, but they're still pretty influential from an historical context. Y'follow me?"

"Yeah, sure," Bucky says, with a shrug. "I get it."

"Alright, so we're gonna start with the post-World War II musical renderings of Louis Armstrong –"

"Him I know," Bucky interrupts. "Steve and I used to see him play in Harlem back in the day."

"I understand, but some of the stuff he did after the war is directly related to the birth of rock & roll, so it's important you know his post-War style," Sam says, even though all he wants is to ask what seeing Louis Armstrong in person was like. As many questions as Bucky and Steve must have about all the decades they, more or less, missed, Sam's probably got a million more about the decades they lived through. They're living, breathing history, the both of them. 

He taps at one of the lists he'd printed out. "And then we're gonna go through the fifties and the birth of rock & roll, and I'm talking the good stuff, too. Diana Ross and the Supremes, James Brown, Elvis Presley, Chubby Checkers, Fats Domino, Little Richard, the building blocks of everything that's come after," he says. "And then we'll get into how the rock movement and the kids listening to black artists fed into the start of the Civil Rights movement of the sixties and how all that tied into the British Revolution with The Beatles and The Stones and how the counter-culture movement fed into the music scene and shaped how America viewed the Vietnam War – which is where we get into Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin and Smokey Robinson and Al Davis and a whole heap of others. And how the worldwide recession of the late seventies led to an entire generation using punk and funk – which is the music of my heart, man, we're talking Kool & the Gang, Donna Summer, Earth Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye, Rick James, and my main man, Prince Rogers Nelson, you are gonna love him – to rebel against their parents and how disco helped break down some of the barriers surrounding the gay rights movement and how the pop music of the eighties helped usher the end to the Cold War, which led to grunge and then we'll switch it up and talk about the class struggle that led to the birth of the rap movement and –"

He stops when Bucky just gives him a glazed-over look. "Sorry, I'm getting way ahead of myself."

"That...sounds like a lot," Bucky says, like he's about two seconds from bolting out of the room.

"You've missed a lot," Sam says. "But don't worry, I've got lists and links and books and, best of all, playlists. Lots of playlists. It'll be fun."

"What'll be fun?" Steve asks, walking into the room with two bottles of water. His meeting with Maria Hill must've ended early. "Oh, hey, Sam, I didn't realize you and Buck were in the middle of something. I can go –"

Bucky pats the seat next to him. "You should sit in on this," he says, and catches one of the bottles when Steve tosses it his way. "Sam's teaching me recent American history through rock music."

"Sounds a lot more fun than how Ms. Barstow taught history back when we were kids," Steve asks, and sits down next to Bucky, no concern whatsoever for Bucky's personal space. Not that Bucky seems to mind. He just tosses his arm over the back of Steve's chair with the ease of someone who's never had to think about his welcome. "Count me in."

"I thought you already got debriefed on what you missed," Sam says. Not that he minds so much if Steve sits in – especially not if Barnes wants him there – but Steve's had a two year head start on getting caught up on things he missed.

"The highlights, sure, but it was pretty cut and dried. I've been doing the bulk of my reading on my own. Hey, are you getting into the punk movement and the protest songs of the late sixties?" Steve asks. "I'm interested in hearing more about Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and Crosby Stills Nash & Young and the Sex Pistols and the Ramones and –"

"Hold the phone," Sam says, stopping Steve in mid-word. " _Captain America_ is into the anti-establishment movement?"

As one, Bucky and Steve turn to each other and share the sort of amused 'best friends who communicate silently' look that has Sam missing Riley all over again. It's a dull ache, and one Sam's learned to accept will never really fade, but he's gotten better at not dwelling on the Riley-shaped absence in his life.

"Should I tell him?" Bucky asks, with a wide grin that is worlds away from the stoic, poker-faced dude Sam's been dealing with the last few weeks. Makes him look years younger, like the 20-something man he really is.

"By all means," Steve says, with that little smirk that Sam knows by now never means anything good.

"Steve here was about as anti-establishment as it got," Bucky says, fondness tingeing every word, like he's a proud parent whose kid has just gotten an award in front of the entire school. "He defied the entire U.S. government to rescue me and the 107th and that's just one example _after_ he got the serum. Back in Brooklyn, when he wasn't getting his ass handed to him in every alley for mouthing off to the wrong guys, he was marching the streets for fair wages and equal rights and better housing and universal health care."

"I'm pretty sure I was on a few Communist watch lists," Steve adds, like it's a point of pride.

"Who's on a watch list?" Tony wanders into the room clutching what looks like the world's biggest smoothie, and stops at the table. "I think I'm on four – no, wait, five – myself. Are we having a party? How come no one invited me?"

"Hey, Tony," Steve says. "Sam was just getting ready to give me and Buck a lesson in recent musical history."

"That's a great idea, talking about music is my favorite thing after science, do you have a list, let me see –" Tony snatches up one of the sheets without waiting for permission and quickly scans it. "I'm not seeing any heavy metal or hair bands on this list, Wilson. How can you discuss rock musical history without talking about the best bands to ever strap on a guitar and jam your face off?"

"It's not that sort of music history –" Sam starts, only to have Tony wave him off.

"This list is invalid without AC/DC and Black Sabbath, I'm sorry, it just is. And no G'n'R or Metallica, either? I'm not normally one to judge –"

"Since when?"

"– but this is definitely me judging you."

Sam holds up another sheet of paper and points towards the bottom. "Metallica and Nirvana on are the Thirty Essential Rock Songs list, see."

"Why is Brit Brit on this list?" Tony frowns.

"Can't go into modern pop music without getting into how it all started. Say what you want about her, but she was a pioneer for all the female pop artists that came after her."

"Admit it, you just want to show them the video."

"That too," Sam grins, because why deny it. 

"Alright, you've sold me," Tony concedes, taking a seat across from Steve and Bucky, "but the lack of Motörhead and Van Halen and Mötley Crüe is a travesty of epic proportions and must be remedied."

"What's a travesty and why haven't I been asked to get rid of the bodies?" Clint asks, wandering in the room with Thor at his side. They both look like they've come straight from sparring down in the gym. The fact that Tony has an entire _floor_ devoted to a gym – the fact that he owns the entire _building_ – still makes Sam rethink his entire life and his choices sometimes. Here he is in Normal People Land, all proud of the fact that his Honda Civic is all paid off, and he hangs out with people who own private jets and entire damn skyscrapers in the middle of Manhattan.

"What's all this?" Thor asks, gesturing at the laptop and the speakers and the papers.

"Sam got it in his head to teach rock & roll history to the two old fogeys without consulting yours truly," Tony says, in the most aggrieved voice Sam's ever heard from an actual adult. "I've decided to stick around and generously fill in the more egregious gaps in their education."

"Very generous of you," Steve says, with a perfectly straight face. Sam bets he's probably great at poker.

"I quite like the music of your planet," Thor says, with a pleased smile. "It's so varied and eclectic. I'm especially fond of the pop music of Brazil. I would be most interested in hearing more about this rock & roll."

Tony jerks a thumb at the space next to him. "Pull up a chair, big guy, the more the merrier."

"This should be fun," Clint comments, and also takes a seat. "I hope you remember the Rat Pack and Liberace and Barry Manilow and James Taylor, though, or we might have to fight."

"I'll give you Sinatra and Dino and Sammy, but, seriously, Barry Manilow?" Tony asks.

" _Copacabana_ and _Mandy_ are classics."

"We're gonna have to disagree there," Tony states, which is the first thing he's said that Sam fully agrees with since they've known each other.

"Are we getting into outlaw country?" Steve asks, flipping through his pocket-sized spiral notebook. "Maria thought I'd like Johnny Cash, which, she was right, by the way, and Amazon seemed to think since I like him I might like Waylon Jennings, Marty Robbins, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, and Patsy Cline."

"Outlaw country sounds like something I'd like," Bucky chimes in, propping his chin on Steve's shoulder to look at the notebook. "I remember liking Gene Autry and Bing Crosby."

"Funny, I always pegged you more as an N.W.A. and Tupac fan," Clint comments. "You seem way more the fuck tha police and fight for your right to be heard type than then the I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die type."

"See, now, N.W.A. and Public Enemy and Run-DMC and Dre and George Clinton, that's what I'm talking about," Sam says. "Some true rebel artists right there." He's got two different playlists for rap, in fact, even though he'd never bought into the West Coast vs. East Coast feuding.

"Darcy's been most helpful in sharing some of her favorite artists with me," Thor says. "Is there anyone on your list who sounds like Taylor Swift or Fall Out Boy? Some of their songs are quite catchy."

"No, sorry, I'm officially nixing you and Darcy ever talking about music again," Tony states, with an emphatic jab to the table. "I bet she made you listen to The Spice Girls, didn't she?"

Thor smiles so wide his dimples pop out. "We watched _Spice World_ the other week. I liked Sporty Spice the best."

"See, I was always more of a Posh Spice fan," Clint says. "That attitude, that little black dress..."

"Not that I like the music or anything, because it's, quite frankly, terrible and the worst sort of bubblegum pop, but Ginger Spice is by far the best," Tony says. "In fact, one night at some charity function, Geri and I –"

"Y'all are all wrong," Sam cuts in, because really, what sort of heathens does he hang out with, anyway? "Baby Spice, man, Emma's voice is the best, come on."

Steve picks up another one of Sam's sheets of paper and, impossibly, seems to scoot even closer to Bucky as they study the list together. "Shouldn't there be more be-bop and jazz on here? Natasha and Pepper introduced me to Charlie Parker and John Coltrane and I really liked them."

"We had jazz back then, didn't we?" Bucky asks, with a slight frown. "Duke Ellington and Ella and all those guys."

"Not like this. It's a lot different than swing," Steve explains.

"Who's teaching this class?" Sam asks, with a pointed look that Steve totally ignores. 

"Speaking of, Professor, are you aware that Barnes and Cap are playing footsie under the table right now?" Tony asks, with a manic sort of glee that he normally seems to reserve for pissing off Fury. 

"Really guys, you can't wait until you're alone?" Clint sighs, with a resigned look.

"We have a lot of lost time to make up for," Steve says, with a benign smile that gives zero fucks.

Sam wonders if it's too early to start drinking. If he's got to put up with this sort of epic trolling, there should at least be some rum involved. "Not during class, okay," he finally says. "You're supposed to be concentrating on the music and – wait just a damned minute." He wags his finger between Bucky and Steve. "You two are –?"

"Partners?" Tony supplies, after a beat.

"Lovers?" Clint chimes in.

"Shield brothers," Thor adds.

"I like shield brothers," Steve says, grinning at Thor. "But yeah, whatever you want to call it."

Sam slumps back in his chair. "I'll be damned," he says. It explains so much. He feels like a bit of an ass that he'd never put two and two together. "I can't believe neither of y'all told me."

"I can't believe you never noticed." Tony shakes his head sadly. "They canoodle – great word, by the way – all the time."

Bucky just gives him a cool look. "Told you I remember what sex is." Which is already way more information than Sam has ever wanted about both Captain America and his childhood best friend.

Thor nods. "Having witnessed them in action, I can say indeed that they both possess a warrior's stamina."

Tony half turns in Thor's direction as Steve goes bright red and Bucky lets out a laugh that's part pleased and part embarrassed. "And how and when did this witnessing take place?" Tony asks, leaning around Clint to look at Thor. "And was it just witnessing or was there some audience participation? Inquiring minds and all that yada."

Thor just stares back, benign and cool as the other side of the pillow. "That's not for me to tell."

"Don't look at me," Clint says, raising his hands when Tony lifts an eyebrow his way. "I never get invited to any of the sexual reindeer games."

Bucky frowns. "But I thought you and Natasha –"

"Can we get off sex and back to the music, please," Sam says, before he has to hear any more about anyone else's love life.

"Well, when you think about it," Tony muses, "you can't really have one without the other. I mean, all music really is at its core is a form of aural foreplay –"

Sam just puts his head on the table and groans.

***

**Author's Note:**

> For those that are curious, here's The Thirty Essential Rock Songs To Know by Sam Wilson:
> 
> [ _Rock Around the Clock_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgdufzXvjqw) by Bill Haley and His Comets  
> [ _Blue Suede Shoes_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Ond-OwgU8) by Elvis Presley  
> [ _Stop! In The Name of Love_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDPjYZxi0n8) by Diana Ross and the Supremes  
> [ _Folsom Prison Blues_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDktBZzQIiU) by Johnny Cash  
> [ _Coal Miner's Daughter_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9eHp7JJgq8%22%22) by Loretta Lynn  
> [ _Love Me Do_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbt8oH5Lxto) and [_A Day In The Life_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-Q9D4dcYng) by The Beatles  
> [ _Sexual Healin'_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjlSiASsUIs) by Marvin Gaye  
> [ _What a Wonderful World_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdPM) by Louis Armstrong  
> [ _Are You Experienced?_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK8N6DjJccc) by Jimi Hendrix  
> [ _Mercedes Benz_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tGuJ34062s) by Janis Joplin  
> [ _Whole Lotta Love_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mln0RciE2o0) by Led Zeppelin  
> [ _I Got You (I Feel Good)_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuDeBcpLITQ) by James Brown  
> [ _Born to be Wild_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMbATaj7Il8) by Steppenwolf  
> [ _Ziggy Stardust_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXq5VvYAI1Q) by David Bowie  
> [ _Free Bird_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np0solnL1XY) by Lynyrd Skynyrd  
> [ _God Save The Queen_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z2M_hpoPwk) by The Sex Pistols  
> [ _Train in Vain_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Yl4ehzX-o) by The Clash  
> [ _Rapture_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHCdS7O248g) by Blondie  
> [ _Hot Stuff_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IdEhvuNxV8) by Donna Summer  
> [ _Superfreak_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHxGBH6o4M) by Rick James  
> [ _Atomic Dog_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuyS9M8T03A) by by George Clinton  
> [ _When Doves Cry_](http://video.naij.com/view=6qgucczw) by Prince  
> [ _Holiday_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X7RyGBq2E8) by Madonna  
> [ _Rio_](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1yrbn_duran-duran-rio_music) by Duran Duran  
> [ _Master of Puppets_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnKhsTXoKCI) by Metallica  
> [ _Livin' on a Prayer_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDK9QqIzhwk) by Bon Jovi  
> [ _Head Like a Hole_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV2EUUF47Ms) by Nine Inch Nails  
> [ _Straight Outta Compton_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGmbUXqHPk4) by N.W.A.  
> [ _California Love_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKtMiCD_oqk) by Tupac & Dr. Dre  
> [ _Smells Like Teen Spirit_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg) by Nirvana  
> [ _Hit Me Baby (One More Time)_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-u5WLJ9Yk4) by Britney Spears
> 
>  
> 
> You can now find me on [Tumblr](http://brendaonao3.tumblr.com/). :)


End file.
